Juneau is lucky in that it has grocery stores that stock kaffir lime leaves, tamarind pods, lemongrass and raw sugar cane. I never saw any of these items in the South. We owe our diverse food selections to the strong ethnic communities in Juneau as well as to the many travelers who bring and share their culinary ideas. I am enamored with fusion cuisines. One of my favorites is Indonesian.

Located in the Malay Archipelago, Indonesia consists of nearly 13,700 islands. The three main islands are Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi. The geographic location of Indonesia has provided the country with many cultural and culinary influences while the varied ethnic groups hold fast to traditional ingredients and cooking methods. The Chinese brought stir-fry cookery, the Indians cumin and cilantro, the Arabs brought the satay, and the New World brought chilies.

Rice and seafood define the cuisine of Indonesia. Other traditional ingredients include fennel, tamarind, vinegar, soy sauce, curry, coconut and lemongrass.

Interestingly enough, the root name of American ketchup is the Malaysian word kecap that denotes many different vinegar-based sauces.

The following recipe is from Sumatra, located on the India-China trade route. The resulting influences leave the island's food particularly laden with aromatic Indian spices fused with traditional Indonesian ingredients. The following is based on a typical Indonesian coconut dish with Indian influences.

Sumatran Gulai Udang

½ serrano pepper, diced

2 tablespoons fresh sliced garlic

1 tablespoon diced or sliced ginger

1 tablespoon minced fresh lemongrass (use the softer inner stalks)

4 large pods of tamarind (seeds removed and finely diced)

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Combine the above ingredients in a large sauté pan and sweat until the garlic begins to brown. Do this slowly, so the fibrous lemongrass softens and the leathery tamarind skin is loosened.

Add:

1 cup sliced yellow onion

1 cup sliced celery

2 cups sliced red and yellow bell peppers

1 cup snow peas

1 teaspoon ground cumin

⅛ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Cook briefly on high heat until the vegetables are tender and crisp.

Add:

1 14-ounce can coconut milk

1 tablespoon molasses

2½ teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 pound cleaned shrimp

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Simmer gently until the shrimp are cooked. Serve over rice. Indonesians prefer fluffy white rice. I prefer a quality white basmati rice with its aromatic flavor and long graceful grains. Basmati also happens to be from India, which matches well with this recipe.

• Brady Deal works for Sysco Foods and can be reached at deal.brady@sea.sysco.com.